Storytelling Friday
by lenfaz
Summary: Collection of short stories/storytelling
1. Best Friend's Sister

He meets her when he's 8 and she is 6. It's weird, he and David had been best friends forever, ever since his family moved from England to Maine.

But now, Killian finds out that David will get a sister and gets really jealous. He refuses to go play at David's house after Emma arrives and sits on his bed, playing alone with his cars.

Liam sits down with him and explains him that he shouldn't feel jealous and that David will continue to be his friend but Emma didn't have anyone in the world. They were lucky, Liam and him, that mom was still with them after dad had left; but Emma wasn't that lucky and Killian should be nice to her, because Emma had a hard life.

So finally Killian goes to David's house again, carrying a gift for Emma that Liam helped him pick. She's shy at first and hesitates to grab the doll he's trying to gift her, but at some point Killian smiles at her and Emma smiles back.

She gets laughed at during recess and David and Killian kick all the boys that bullied her. They stand in front of her, tall and proud and arms crossed, chests puffing, daring the other boys to pick on her again. (Her mom scolds him in public but takes him, Emma and David for icecream that afternoon. Liam gives him a pat in the head and tells him he's proud).

They are playing pirates one day when she gets scared and he bows that he'll always protect her. He's 10 and she's 8 and she talks more now, but she still doesn't trust much. She runs when she's scared, and he finds her each time, and tells her that she has nothing to be scared of. That he will protect her. That David will protect her.

She never became popular, but by the time they are in high school she has a few friends and a life of her own. She still runs when things get scary and he still finds her at the same spot of the park he did when they were 10. He doesn't vow to protect her anymore, because she knows he will. Instead they talk about life, about getting out of Maine and live an exciting new life.

She dates Walsh when she's 15. David hates him, Killian thinks she can do better. The next year, she dates Graham. David likes him, Killian still thinks she can do better.

And then David and he are off to college and he barely sees them. Thanksgiving and Christmas and perhaps on the summer. But he picked a sailing job and spent a few summers without coming back home. He and David still talk, but it's not as it used to be.

He literally rans again into her when he's 24 and she's 22. He's been living in Boston for two years designing and building boats and she's just moved in to join the police force. She was actually arresting one of his friends for public disorder and when Killian walked out of the bar to tried to convince the officer, he realizes is Emma. And she looks beautiful and fierce as she's handcuffing his friend that he can barely talk. He finally gets his act together and tries to smooth talk her into letting his friend go, but she refuses.

He follows her to the station, he has to bail his friend out anyway, but in the road he stops to get her a hot cocoa, hoping that is still what she likes.

He spends all the time they took to bring his friend out talking to her, catching up and making small talk but he can't help feeling overwhelmed by how incredible Emma is. Now that he sees her again he can't take his eyes away from her.

When they finally bring his friend out he gives her a smirk and tells her that at the risk of being beaten up by David, he wants to ask her out.

She says yes.

They kiss on the first date and he asks for another. She says yes again.

She gets scared the next day and cancels.

He finds out from David where she lives and camps outside her apartment until she shows up. And he tells her that he knows she's scared, but there is nothing to be scared. Because he told her when they 10 that he'll always protect her and he intends to keep that promise.

They moved in together six months later. And when he marries her, his only vow is that he'll protect her.


	2. Arranged Marriage

Ever since she could remember, Princess Emma Swan from Misthaven had been told she'd marry Prince Liam of Camelot. She was raised with that knowledge and every story about a brave prince coming to the princess' rescue would be filled by Liam and she on her mind.

She'd only met him once, when she was eleven and he was sixteen. He had blue eyes and curly brown hair and a nice smile. And he treated her with the utmost respect, not like a child, but like an important princess. He listened carefully to her ideas about what should be done in a kingdom (she had ideas but no one was willing to listen). His little brother used to interrupt them, a dark haired boy of thirteen that wanted nothing more than his brother to teach him swordplay instead of being with _that_ princess. Emma scoffed at the little boy who clearly didn't understand how crown princes and princesses should behave.

When it was time for their visitors to return back to Camelot, Liam had placed a kiss on her hand and told her he knew she'd rule her kingdom wisely one day.

And from that day on, all Emma could dream of was the perfect prince she'd marry. Prince Liam of Camelot.

Except that, at the age of twenty-three, and only a few months away from the official betrothal celebration, Prince Liam had broken the engagement. It wasn't just that, but he had resigned to his right to the crown of Camelot, choosing to live the simple life of a sailor instead. He'd felt the call of the sea, and he'd answered. The decision was not met without scandal and strong intentions from his parents to persuade him, but Liam was adamant. His parents finally let him, thinking for themselves that he'd soon tire from the hardship and would come back to claim his place as crowned prince and heir to the throne.

He'd sent Emma a letter, apologizing for whatever troubles his decision might cause her and wishing that she'd find an honorable suitor that could make her as happy as she deserved.

A year passed and the news had not even reached the ends of the realm that another notice was travelling as fast as that one: Liam's ship had wrecked during a terrible storm and he'd gone missing, nowhere to be found.

All eyes then turned to Prince Killian, who at the age of twenty-one had to leave his post in the Navy to become the crowned prince and rightful heir to the throne of Camelot.

Prince Killian had not been raised to inherit the kingdom. From a very young age he'd been sent abroad, learning to fight and spending time at the command of his father's most ruthless knights. He'd fought in battle since the tender age of sixteen and it was in battle where he'd lost his left hand at the sword of the enemy, before reaching for the nearest object available, a hook, to save his life. It was the hook that he now used as a prosthesis, making him even more fearsome in battle. At nineteen, he'd ventured at sea, his life devoted to fight pirates and keep them from attacking their kingdom's vessels. Some ventured that he was as ruthless as a pirate sometimes, and that his manners would never be fit for court.

Killian was called back to land, but he still took a few months to come back, determined to search the open sea for his brother. He was unsuccessful in his task and finally resigned himself to the destiny he'd now needed to fulfill.

When he finally landed in Camelot, more news awaited him. In his absence, his parents had seen befitting that he'd now take Emma as his betrothed, thus keeping the alliance with Misthaven and the possibility of uniting the kingdoms under one single family.

Killian threw a rage fit at his parent's decision. He was certainly not interested in marrying the girl that his brother had almost left at the altar and whom, as much as he recalled, only had eyes for his brother the only time he'd seen her. The princess had been raised to be royalty, and he'd been raised to be anything but a fighter. Nothing good would come out of it, he yelled to his parents before locking himself in his old room (he refused to take on Liam's quarters no matter how they've historically been reserved for the heir of the throne) and drinking himself to oblivion.

Emma's rage was a match for Killian's. All her life she'd dreamed to marry Liam, and only had a few months to the idea of not marrying him before the news of the wreckage had come. And now she was meant to replace one brother with another as if nothing had changed. She remembered the boy that looked at her with contempt, jealous of the attention she was getting from his brother, and she'd heard of the stories of his ruthless actions and brutish manners.

While they fought (and they fought hard) against it, the prince and the princess were cornered by their parents and that is how Emma found herself making the trip to Camelot to attend the official ball to celebrate their engagement.

She noticed his stormy blue eyes when they met again and he noticed her fierce green ones. He tried to behave but she seemed to be looking at him with contempt, like she'd measured him and he came up short to her standards. Of course he was, she'd been expecting to have someone like his brother and he was nowhere near Liam. Never had, never will be. So he did what he did best, he put on a mask of swagger and smirk and treated her like a mere conquest, a trinket that he'd soon add to his collection. He could see the rage in her eyes and he thought for a second that she was going to slap him, but she took a deep breath, gave him a curtsey and left the room.

Emma was so livid at his behavior that the first thing she did in the morning was get on a horse and ride as fast and as far as she could, working her frustrations away. She was an excellent rider and had brought her leather pants outfit specially for the occasion. As she pushed the horse to a full throttle coming back to the castle, a dark hooded figure passed by her, cutting her path. She stopped the horse skilfully and grabbed the knife hidden in her waist as the hooded figure turned around and came to her way. When it lifted its hood, Emma found herself faced with the blue eyes of Killian, looking at her with clear admiration.

"No need for the knife, your highness, I mean no harm." He said cocking an eyebrow.

She smiled and put the knife again and they rode back in silence towards the castle. Killian helped her dismount and escorted her to the castle before he quickly turned around and left.

The ball was an awkward ordeal for both, though they were very good at hiding it. He had dressed in black leather and was behaving with more swagger than ever while Emma's white dress and floral crown where a complete contrast to him. Yet, they danced in unison, and he noticed how naturally she acted around his hook, which was something that no one, not even his parents, had ever been able to do.

Per their parents insistence, they took a walk alone in the gardens and Killian found himself actually enjoying the company of the princess. She was still very closed, but at least she wasn't looking at him with contempt. When he left her at her door that night and he pressed a kiss on her hand, his heart skipped a beat.

But the next morning news came into the castle from the far kingdom of Arendelle: Prince Liam was alive. Alive and well, as he'd drifted into the shores of Arendelle, where he'd been found unconscious by no other than the queen herself, Elsa. Liam had been feverish and in the verge of death for several weeks and it was the queen's personal care what had saved him. It was her cold hands, pressed against his forehead and heart, what had kept the fever down and the infection at bay. Liam finally woke up to the teary blue eyes of Elsa and he was never able to look away again. They'd fallen in love at first sight, and were married within the fortnight. Liam had no intentions of claiming the throne of Camelot again, but requested permission to visit the kingdom and introduce his wife to his family.

Killian's eyes were on Emma the moment the news were public and he witnessed how her face crumpled and her eyes filled with tears before she stormed out of the room and the castle. He hastily made his way towards her, and he was able to catch her before she reached the stables.

He pulled her towards him. "You can't ride in this condition, lass. You'll kill yourself." He said as he embraced her.

She cried in rage and hit his chest, "Leave me alone!" she pleaded.

" _No_." He said as he held her tighter against him and she collapsed in his arms, sobbing forcefully.

"It wasn't that he didn't want this life," Emma cried, "He didn't want to have it with _me_."

"That's not true." Killian whispered, "my brother is a romantic. He loved the sea and he always believed one should marry for love. He - he was caged in this life and he preferred to leave before condemning you to a loveless marriage and a miserable life for you both."

"And so he gets to be happy while you pick up the pieces," she said.

"He's alive, Emma." Killian said as he pulled away and looked into her eyes, softly drying a tear from her face with his thumb, "I'd gladly give up everything and pick every piece that needs to be picked in payment for that."

As the days passed, Killian's attention kept travelling towards where Emma was, his eyes studying her carefully until he memorized every gesture of her face, every sound of her voice, every movement of her hands. And it wasn't longer when he knew… he just knew.

The night before she was meant to return to her kingdom he went to find her, breaking all propriety rules as he knocked on her door.

Emma answered and looked at him curiously and Killian cleared his throat and told her that he was breaking off the engagement, thus relieving her from any obligation towards him.

"Why?" she asked.

His hand reached for her face, "Because I haven't won it, Emma. And I hope that when I win your hand, Emma, it won't be because of an arrangement, it would be because you want me. Because I've won your heart, because you want not just this life, but you want it with me. I am setting you free of this commitment, love, in the hopes that one day, you'll see me in the same way I see you. Make no mistake, Swan, I want this life with you. And I'm willing to earn it." He reached to press a soft kiss on her forehead before turning around and leave.

Killian spent the next few months at sea, travelling to Arendelle to meet with his brother. He wrote to Emma constantly, each letter sharing stories about himself, his hopes and dreams, the things he feared, the things he wished. The regrets he had, the mistakes he seek forgiveness for. He always closed his letters with the same line.

 ** _Not a day goes by I don't think of you._**

When he finally met Liam again, and witnessed the happiness in his brother's eyes as he introduced him to his wife, he knew that things had happened for a reason. And he only hoped that he'd be as lucky as his brother was.

Liam chuckled in surprise when he learned of Killian's love for the princess, tracking back to the contempt he'd seen in both of them when they had met.

"Well, I guess everything happens for a reason, right?" he said clasping his brother's shoulder.

When Killian was finally back in Camelot, he sent word to Misthaven requesting permission to visit the princess. He received word that he was welcomed and he sailed again towards his new destination. A problem with the ship in the last port forced have to continue the trip by land.

Emma was standing at port, waiting for the ship's arrival, when a messenger arrived with the news that the prince was arriving by land. He'd ditched his escort and was riding as fast as he could towards the castle, eager to see the princess. Emma fidgeted with her hands for a second, as she couldn't shake a somber feeling from her mind. Never the one to hesitate, she mounted and rode towards the road. And that is how she watched in the distance a figure being attacked by two hooded man. Her heart beat frantically in her chest as she hastened her horse's step and she reached for the knife that she kept on her saddle.

"Killian!" she yelled as she maneuvered the horse to hit one of the man while she stabbed the other with the knife.

The two bandits looked into the new situation and quickly escaped. Emma turned around her horse and dismounted, quickly running towards Killian.

"Emma!" he said breathless at the sight of her.

"Are you hurt!?" she asked as she reached for him, her hands searching for wounds.

"No, lass, I'm fine. You saved me." He smirked.

Emma's eyes filled with tears as she threw herself in his arms. He quickly caught her, bringing her closer into their embrace, breathing into her hair.

"Don't you dare travel without your escort again." she whispered.

"Swan," he asked in a strained voice, "does this - does this mean I've made progress in my quest of winning your heart?"

She pulled away from him a little, her hand reaching for his and placing it on her chest. "You've already won it. It's - It's yours if you still want it."

"I do." He vowed and she leaned into him, kissing him with more fervor than what was proper for a princess. He pulled her closer to him, his hand burying in her hair and he kept kissing her with even less sense of propriety.

When he broke the kiss, he was out of breath and dazzled, but he still managed to give her a smug smirk, "If you keep kissing me like that, your highness, I might request to marry you _very soon_."

"Works for me." she smiled mischievously before pulling him by the lapels of his coat and kissing him again.

(They actually married in secret that same night as neither of them wanted to wait the months that it would take to arrange the royal nuptials.

And yes, the princess had a loose wedding dress on the day of the official wedding three months later.

Their first son was born 7 months later, and while the entire kingdom was buzzing with rumors, they couldn't care less.)


	3. Breaking up and making up

It starts like any other story starts. Emma met Killian, an exchange student, in her junior year at college. He was majoring in literature and she was looking into making a career in graphic design. They met via mutual friends one night when they were all hanging out at the local bar. They hit it off and all of the sudden they were a thing. A fling. Nothing serious. You can't get serious with an exchange student. Those things are meant to be for fun and nothing else. They are never meant to leave you heartbroken.

Which was, unfortunately, what happened.

One morning, when they'd been together for over three months, Emma woke up and looked at Killian's form, still asleep, snoring softly. She realized then that she was past 'infatuation' and 'just a good time' with this guy and that he was leaving in less than a month.

So Emma made the most rational decision a person can make. She broke his heart before he could break hers. When he brought up the topic of a possible long distance relationship, Emma shut him down by telling him it had been just a college fling, nothing more. She could see the way his face fell at her words, as Killian didn't even try to mask his feelings. He looked at her and told her he knew she was lying, but Emma remained strong in her decision.

Long distance relationships never worked. This was supposed to be a fling. _Nothing more._ Better keep it as a good memory than risking something else that would end up badly.

Killian lowered his head in defeat before leaving her room that night. He got trashed that night, pouring his heart out to David about 'those damn walls' and 'what does a bloke have to do to prove he won't hurt her, mate'.

The next day, he tried to talk to her, but she refused.

He tried the next, she refused again.

The third day, she begged him to leave her alone.

 _Finally, that day, he did._

He buried her deep in a corner of his heart before getting on that plane and flying back home. Back to the flat he shared with his brother, his job at the local public library and his medieval English literature courses, wondering why his life couldn't resemble more a fairytale, where the hero kept trying until he rescued the princess and they'd live happily ever after.

The years passed and he moved on: to his own flat, his teaching lessons at the local school and his writing. He published his doctoral thesis and one more theoretical book before finally making the jump into fiction. He didn't sell millions, but he didn't sell dozens either. It was a nice middle that left him comfortable. Like his life had been for the past few years.

Comfortable. Quiet. _Uneventful_.

A few lasses here and there, nothing major. There was no point in putting his heart out there, only to risk it to be crushed again. He'd been that road before, he'd left his heart at the feet of Emma Swan on that fatidic third day in Boston, only to have her stomp on it.

And that was just about it.

Which is why he had to take a triple check when his eyes spotted her across the street from the local school one day.

Yeap, there she was. Emma Swan, in the flesh. And she was looking at him with a mix of curiosity and reticence. She crossed the street to go to him and he realized, in that moment, of two things.

One, this had not been completely random. She seemed to know he still lived there. And that he worked at the school. He silently cursed David and his inability to keep any information from his wife.

And most importantly, two. He was in danger. _Big danger_. Because he was still utterly and completely in love with Emma Swan. As much as that third day he'd asked her to give him a chance and she'd refused him.

He needed to build some fucking high walls before this ended badly for him.

They greeted awkwardly, both standing in the street as she told him that she'd taken a new job with a local cutting-edge digital company and had arrived a few days ago. She nervously asked him if he wanted to grab dinner and catch up.

He said no, claiming he had plans.

He ran into her when he and Liam were at the street market the next Sunday. She's smiled and shook hands with his brother before she gave him a sad look. She bit her lip before asking him if he wanted to have a cup of coffee.

He said no, claiming that he and Liam needed to get back.

On Wednesday night, someone knocked on his door. Killian opened to find Emma standing before him, her face filled with tear stains.

"Hear me out." She pleaded, before she looked at him and told him she'd made the greatest mistake of her life that day, seven years ago, when she begged him to leave her alone. That she thought that if she ended things there, there'd be no heartache. But that she'd been wrong, because all there'd been in those seven years was ache, and regret for making a terrible decision, for not being brave enough to take a chance with him, with _them_. For not believing they could have conquered all obstacles life had thrown at them.

So when she'd seen the job ad she'd sent her resumee and for the first time in a long time, she'd hoped for something. And it came true. She'd coerced David for information on him and she'd talked to his brother that same afternoon over a cup of tea to get his address.

Now, here she was, by his door, asking him not to make the same mistake she did, and give them a chance to start over. To start again. To see if there was still something there, because she knew now he was worth fighting for and she was trying very hard not to give up, not to lose hope.

She was standing there, trying to be everything she hadn't had the courage to be seven years ago.

She was there, laying her heart at his feet on that third encounter.

Killian did the only thing he could think of. He crashed his lips to hers, kissing her fervently, promising her to never let her go if she was willing to do the same.

She agreed.

 _He never let her go again._


	4. Game Rivalry

**_"we were having a fun games night w our friends but now everyone's left your flat apart from me bc we've played twenty games of connect 4 and still haven't managed to find a winner and gdi i will beat you_** **"**

Emma Swan doesn't stand to lose. At _anything_. Call it a residual trauma from her shitty childhood, but she really can't stand to lose. She needs to win in order to feel good about herself, to feel that she is worthy, to feel that she matters, to feel that she finally is first at something. Emma had spent years of costly therapy to try to overcome this need of winning. And she was doing better, she was.

Until she met _him_. Killian Jones.

Because, here's thing (although she doesn't know it). Killian Jones doesn't lose. He literally _can't_ lose. At anything. It's almost like magic, but ever since he's been a kid, he'd won at games, raffles, even silly "guess the number" games. He has to try really _really_ hard to lose, and sometimes even with that, it doesn't work.

Emma Swan hates to lose and Killian Jones literally cannot lose.

So when they met at a bar where she was hanging with Ruby and Mary Margaret and he came in with David (who was daing Mary Margaret) and Viktor, it was really a disaster waiting to happen.

Emma was concentrated in a dart game against Ruby (and she was winning) when the brunette got bored and bailed on her, calling Killian to take her place. Killian took one look at the blonde beauty standing in front of him and he just knew he needed to talk to her. So he tried to turn on the charm but Emma shushed him as she was focusing on her shot. She almost nailed it, the dart coming really close to the center. She was about to win. Killian, not caring one bit about the bloody game, just picked the first dart available and threw it in the target direction, not even looking as he turned around to focus on her and start a conversation.

The dart hit the bullseye. Killian won the game. Emma gave him the most furious look and stomped out of his sight.

They met again a few weeks later, in yet another bar gathering. She was still mad about the dart incident, so she challenged him to a pool game. She'd been playing pool since her group home days, she was fantastic at it.

He won in three turns. What made Emma even more furious is that he wasn't even trying. She could tell he was more interested in talking to David than in the game. And he still won.

Killian didn't even had the chance to turn around after pocketing the 8-ball that Emma had already left the bar, fuming.

Then it was _poker_ night. He won. Killian actually tried to give her back the money but she had told him between gritted teeth that he had won it.

 _Uno_. That ended with Emma almost stabbing him with an icepick.

 _Charades_. No matter how stupid and nonsensical David's gestures were, Killian would guess it. In record time.

Every time, at every game, at every single thing, Killian would win. And Emma would lose it, feeling frustrated and riled up over the most stupid thing which she _knew_ was the most stupid thing, but she couldn't control it.

And that is how they ended up in this situation: at 2 am in the morning in his place, after everyone bailed out on them hours ago; with Emma _determined_ to beat him at connect four. They were in their 20th game (he thought it was, he lost count after midnight) and unless he pretty much tossed the game, Killian knew this night would never end.

And it was fun in the beginning, when he first met her, to push her buttons and see how riled up she got. Her skin flushed, her green eyes a shade darker, her lip trembling a little. Until he realized he much rather elicit those reactions by other more _enjoyable_ activities. Ones that at least didn't end with her closing the door forcefully on his face, leaving him standing there, looking at the empty space with longing eyes.

So Killian decided to toss the game and it was even worse because Emma figured it out and told him that she did not need his charity, that she was going to win fair and square.

"Why is it so important that you win, Swan?" He finally asked her.

"You wouldn't understand…" She trailed off, the tiredness of the evening finally getting into her, and the embarrassment of her childish behavior making her avert her eyes.

"Try me." He challenged her.

"I just need to do it, you know? To win so it's clear that I am good at something, that I am valuable, worth it… You don't even want to win and yet it comes so easily to you. You excel at winning."

"It can be a curse sometimes…" Killian sighed, running a hand through his hair.

" _Winning_? A _curse_?" She looked at him confused, "How?"

"Well, for starters, if I hadn't won at every bloody thing ever since we met, and trust me love, I've _tried_ to lose, many times; perhaps you would have stayed long enough in the same room for me to finally ask you out." He confessed.

Her eyes widened in surprise as he smiled sheepishly at her, "You want to ask me out? Since when?"

"Pretty much since we met, Emma." He said, "but you always end up so mad at me for winning at whatever bloody game we are playing that I never had the chance."

She looked at him for a long moment, before her hand reached for one of the chips. "Let's finish the game, Killian." She said.

"Swan…" He protested but she gave him a confident look.

" _Your turn_."

He sighed and continued the game. He won in two more turns. Emma looked at the game and then stood up, "Good game and now it's time for me to go." She said as she grabbed her things.

Killian smiled sadly as he stood up and walked her to the door.

"Emma…" He started but she cut him off by turning around, her hand softly caressing his cheek and she brushed her lips to his slightly.

"I'm free tomorrow night. No games." She said smiling

"No games." He whispered as he watched her leave.

It turned out, there were other things Killian Jones excelled at.

 _Kissing._

 _Making her come._

 _Loving her._

 _Making her the happiest woman on earth._

 _Making her feel that she was the first at something._

(Needless to say, they never played a game against each other again in their lives.)


	5. Friends in college

**_"we were friends in college who lost touch but we randomly ran into each other almost a decade later and you're even more awesome than I remember" and also "is my ex trying to set us up?"_**

Killian Jones led a simple life. He worked as a graphic designer and spent his Saturdays sailing. A few nights a month hanging out at the pub, and a game or two at the park, holiday season with his brother and his family back in England. It wasn't cutting edge, but it wasn't bad either.

Or at least, that was what he'd thought right up until the moment that fate intervened and he ran into one Emma Swan on a sunny Sunday afternoon. It had been the silliest of coincidences, really. Killian and Tink had been walking through the park, coffees in hand, catching up - and by catching up we mean that Tink was talking incessantly about the latest guy she had a crush on while Killian patiently listened and tried to smile and nod in the appropriate places - when first a ball and second a huge St Bernard came running their way. Tink had been able to jump quickly on her feet - it was as if she could fly, really - and move away; but Killian hadn't been so fast on his feet and the dog collapsed into him, and he'd been sent crashing to his good ol' friend, the floor. Killian Jones had experience taking a fall, as his many years as fly-high in the rugby team had made him very acquainted with hitting the grass.

He was trying to get himself up on his feet again, sending murdering looks at Tink, who was clearly laughing at his predicament, when he heard a voice calling from behind.

" _Charming_! Be still, you beast!"

Killian looked up and he instantly recognized the blonde that was making her way through them. Red leather jacket, skinny jeans and those fierce green eyes.

He hadn't thought about Emma Swan for years. After graduating from college, they'd all gone their separate ways, with promises of keeping in touch that were kept for the first three or six months, depending how close you were; until real life and new friends and commitments got in the way. Last thing he knew about her, she'd been following her boyfriend Graham to a small town in Maine. But it seemed she was back in Boston now.

Emma's face lit with a huge smile when she recognized them. Killian got up from the floor as she hugged Tink and then she turned around to him, her arms ready to fuse in an embrace. But she hadn't reached yet him when Killian felt his balance lost as something shuffled between his legs.

"Charming! Stop it, buddy!" Emma scolded the dog before she faced Killian, a small blush tinting her cheeks.

"Swan…" Killian bit his lower lip, "You're back in town."

"After ten years, I felt it was time to come back to the only home I've ever known," Emma whispered, a slight pained undertone in her voice that made Killian's heart swelled.

The three of them continued their walk together, while the dog came back and forth, his tail wagging as he presented Killian with the ball from time to time.

Emma told them about the eventual fallout in Maine, a not-so-funny tale of flirting, jealousy and almost infidelity that led Emma to pack her bags and leave, taking the dog with her. She'd spent some time in Portland before she finally took a job as bailbondsperson in the city a few months before.

She turned around and looked at Killian and Tink, "So, you guys are back together?"

Tink snorted, "Goodness no, like I could tolerate him that much… we're just friends."

"I resent that comment very much, my dear. You'd be lucky to have landed such a dashing companion." Killian countered, his eyes darting briefly to Emma and giving her a small smile. He'd been relieved when Tink had set the record straight and he was hoping that the brief relief he saw in Emma's eyes had been real and not a fidget of his imagination.

Soon, too soon for his liking, they were back where they'd first bumped into each other, Emma saying a quick goodbye and promising to try to keep in touch. He watched her go, Charming trotting by her side, taking a little of the sunlight with her.

He felt Tink's slap his arm and turned to face her.

"Go," she urged.

"Tink…" he hesitated.

"Killian Jones, you couldn't get your eyes off of her. _GO_." She pushed him in Emma's direction and Killian decided to bloody go for it.

"Swan!" he called after her.

Emma stopped and turned around, holding Charming's leash to prevent the dog from escaping.

"Do you still like Granny's grilled cheese with onion rings and a frozen chocolate milkshake with cinnamon on top?" he asked without even breathing.

A small smile curved her lips, "You remember all that?"

"I remember a lot," he whispered. "See you tonight at 8 at Granny's?"

"I'll be there." She bit her lower lip. "And Killian?"

"Yes, love?"

"I'm agreeing to a _date_ tonight, right?"

" _Aye_."

She tasted like chocolate and cinnamon when he kissed her that night.

And she has tasted like that every single day they've spent together ever since, whether they are walking side by side holding hands or he's pressing her against the mattress late at night, his body worshipping hers.


End file.
